Never Too Late to
Vote
By BEN YSURSA and
MATTHEW DUNLAP, Op-Ed Contributors,
NYTimes on the Web,
May 11, 2007
LAST month, Gov. Chet Culver of Iowa
signed a bill authorizing Election Day registration, which allows previously
unregistered voters with proper ID the opportunity to cast a ballot that day.
This is a powerful tool to promote voting and, as secretaries of state of two
states that already have this policy in place, we welcome Iowa in joining our
ranks.
With Election Day registration, all qualified voters can participate in the
vital American tradition of voting without finding themselves hampered by
arbitrary registration deadlines. Seven states — ours, as well as
Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, Wisconsin and Wyoming — now use E.D.R., and
the evidence is convincing: voter turnout in these states is on average 10
to 12 percentage points higher than in other states.
While opponents are concerned that this option might encourage voter fraud, such
crime is exceedingly rare or nonexistent in states that offer Election Day
registration. Citizens of Maine, for instance, have benefited from
same-day registration since the early 1970s and no case of voter fraud has ever
been attributed to the policy. With simple, fair and safe methods to
verify voters, and by relying on effective poll-worker training and
sophisticated election administration, our states have ensured the integrity of
the process while allowing every eligible citizen to cast a ballot.
We also reject the oft-used argument that voters not registered in advance
should be effectively barred from voting as punishment for not heeding existing
deadlines. While it’s true even E.D.R. states have deadlines in place for
registration by mail, we firmly believe that missing a deadline should not
prevent interested and engaged parties from being able to register in person on
Election Day. We are committed to leaving no voter behind, including
first-time voters, newly naturalized citizens and those who may have recently
changed addresses.
When it comes especially to voters ages 18 to 25 — a demographic often absent at
the polls — a recent study by Demos projected that in Iowa, Election Day
registration could result in a 10.7 percent increase in voting among that group.
Other beneficiaries are registered voters inadvertently removed from the rolls,
newlyweds who just changed their names and people who, because of whatever
mix-up, are asked to cast a provisional ballot instead. In same-day
registration states, these folks don’t leave the voting booth wondering if their
ballots will count equally alongside their neighbors’.
Legislatures from Hawaii to Massachusetts to North Carolina are taking serious
steps toward putting Election Day registration into effect. And the need
for this critical reform did not escape the notice of Congressional leaders who
recently introduced a proposed Count Every Vote act, with an added provision for
Election Day registration nationwide.
Though one of us is a Republican and one is a Democrat, we can attest that
political affiliation isn’t relevant here: this is a policy that is
good for voters, regardless of party, and good for our democracy. When it
comes to elections, America is best served when all eligible voters cast their
ballots — even those who missed the registration deadline.
Ben Ysursa and Matthew Dunlap are the secretaries of state for
Idaho and Maine, respectively.
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